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Presumably due to the minor flaw in WAR regarding PR/defensive specialists. Campana gets to generate baserunning and defensive value without burning PAs. He's then compared to the runs generated by an average player in the same number of PAs.

There probably aren't more than a relative handful of guys with Campana's sort of PA vs. running vs. defensive opportunities profile so it's surely not worth fixing. But I suppose technically Rbat should be measured relative to PA, Rbase relative to times on base (or some such) and Rfield relative to defensive innings (or some such).

For example, if I counted right, Campana has been used as a PR 36 times in his career. With a career OBP of 294, it would take him another 122 PA to reach base safely 36 times. He's been used often enough as a PH then gone into the field that he may not have that many "free" defensive innings but it's still probably on an order of 50-100.

Let's say between those he would need an additional 150 PA ... in those 150 PA, he'd add no additional baserunning or defensive value but would get docked about 7 more runs on Rbat. Which still keeps him average but at least a bit below.

Little dude is freaking fast and knows how to use it on defense too. He's credited with +18 between Rbase and Rdp (which does require a PA). Willie Wilson had two seasons like that. Only 6 seasons in the expansion era where a player had 15+ Rbase -- Wills 62, Rickey 85 and 88, Wilson 79-80 and Coleman 86.

Guy should probably retire, get on a bike and ride the Tour. Small enough he can probably climb well and I bet he can hold his own in a sprint.

Pretty much yes. He has 160 career appearances in the field (plus PR appearances where he didn't make it into the field) and only 84 career starts. He does a reasonable amount of unsuccessful pinch-hitting as well.

<i>Is that even something useful if he can't hit a lick?

With shortened benches, not a lot but if you can afford him then, as his WAR shows, he's plenty valuable enough. He's a guy who, to this point, has easily out-run and, on a per-inning basis, fielded nearly as well as Peter Bourjos. Bourjos is a much better hitter ... but, by WAR, Bourjos would still be an average player if he put up -25 Rbat a year. Last year BJ Upton put up -26 Rbat and he sure wasn't gonna add 20-30 runs of baserunning and defense to that.

Of course nobody is ever going to give Campana that kind of shot because they all know that his bat is just too weak no matter how great the legs are. But he's probably as good or better than Miguel Dilone or Chuck Carr were and they got 2000 ML PAs. Giving him starts would be pretty dumb but probably smarter than the DBacks giving Womack 102 starts IN RF! in 1999. He's a better player, probably even better hitter, than Blair was from 31-36 and he was still given about 1400 PA.

I'm reasonably confident there are no better baserunners in MLB than Campana. There are probably some better CFs but not a huge number. It's gotta suck to be one of the best at two key aspects of the game and still be useless.